too cool for school

Tonight we had a bunch of kids over to celebrate Saint Martin's Day. The holiday is a big deal in parts of Germany. Kids parade with paper lanterns and candles through the streets. There are special songs, often accompanied by accordion. There are wonderful treats called Weckmanner, little sweetened yeast breads shaped like gingerbread men. We had an Americanized version of Saint Martin's Day. We had the parade of lanterns. But party accompaniment came from an I-Pod and treats came in the form of cookies.

After the parade, some of the kids wanted to see Martin's new school room. Soon enough, scads of kids were pulling things off shelves, drawing pictures, and playing with activities in the room. The older ones had all sorts of questions. "Is this where Martin goes to school?" "I think I want to homeschool." A little girl began to cry when her parents' call to go home meant she had to leave the school room. Through all of this, Martin was thrilled to have his school room full of kids. Even though things were a little loud for him, he had a great time. The lanterns, the cookies, and the friends exploring his new space all served to make him feel really good.

And that's good since we were celebrating his saint day. Here's to more parties and friends in our school room! Here's to homeschool in contact with the rest of the world!